Show Me the Way
by Cascade of Dreams
Summary: This is the story of Electra, a young she-cat who made all the wrong choices. She paid dearly for her choices, and now she only wants to forget. Of course, nothing ever turns out right when it involves Macavity...This is her tale. Please R
1. Pain

**Chapter 1: Pain**

I'm Electra, and I've made some very bad choices in a short amount of time.

I have the blood of three innocent cats on my paws. Don't get me wrong, I didn't lay a claw on them. It might have been better if I had, though.

I blame myself for everything that has happened, though many cats say it's not my fault. I haven't left the junkyard since then, my appetite for adventure gone.

My mate keeps me from suicide; he's the best. I'm not sure if I'll have kits with him, though. Not that I don't want to, I just don't want them to make the same mistakes I made. They might come anyway. That's why I'm doing this.

Cats act differently around me now, not that I blame them. Jemima has become quiet and drawn into herself. Rumpleteazer and Demeter both support and help me out. Bombalurina looks at me with scorn; maybe her sister could soften her up. I don't really know if she will, and I don't really care. Jellylorum doesn't blame me for anything, though she should. Munkustrap is…Munkustrap. Not much different there, but he probably has a different idea about me now.

Writing seems to ease my pain. My emotions are let free, flowing onto the page. It feels wonderful. Maybe, just maybe, I can prevent another disaster from happening. I'm writing partially to myself, and partially for generations to come. I bet you're pretty confused by now.

Here, in this book, I will write my story. It will pretty much be in first person, but some of it will be in third person. If there wasn't some third person, the story wouldn't make sense. I've picked up stories from many a cat during my escapade. The only thing that feels good right now as I'm writing is that my mate is peeking at it over my shoulder. Hopefully, I can show you the way through my story.

I had no one to show me the way, and look where I ended up. Heed my words, readers, and learn from them.

I dedicate this story, my story, to my two best friends in the world: Etcetera and Jemima…

* * *

As Rumpleteazer began pushing her kit into the world, she reflected on how she got herself into this. It all started with Mungojerrie.

Jerrie is a very over-protective brother. He didn't let her mix leisurely with the toms, especially Tugger. They had jobs to do for Macavity, and they did them well. There was no time for romance in their world. That's what drove Teazer over the edge.

Teazer began to flirt secretively with the toms behind Jerrie's back. One tom drew her out with him, on her own, often. Plato was an attractive tom in his own right. He was very nice and was excellent at sneaking behind her brother's back. One night together was magical, but in the morning he was not there. Teazer looked all over for him, but to no avail.

She found out later he had left her to pad after Cassandra. Teazer was genuinely hurt, and it became even worse when she found out she was carrying kits.

Rumpleteazer couldn't hide the pregnancy from Jerrie, and he was furious. He gave her a big lecture on responsibility, but softened later at the thought of a new niece.

He was outside of the den now, waiting anxiously for the kits to be born. Rumpleteazer was becoming very tired with pushing, and Jenny could see that. Jenny was the kit-nurse; she was there for almost all of the births. Now she watched Teazer anxiously.

"Just one more push," Jenny assured her. Rumpleteazer was panting heavily, but gave it her all. She collapsed from exhaustion. "It's a she-cat!" Jenny purred triumphantly. She held up the tiny kitten, and Teazer's eyes lit up. Jenny set the kit next to Rumpleteazer, and Mungojerrie was allowed in.

He looked happily on at the little kitten, but his thoughts were clouded with what had to be done. "We can't keep her," Jerrie gently reminded her. Teazer nodded sadly. "We would get in so much trouble with Macavity; it's not even funny." Teazer's eyes were trained on her kit.

"Jenny," Teazer addressed the kit-nurse in a strained voice, "would you take my kit?"

Jenny was shocked. "Of course," she purred gently, and a little hesitantly. She saw how the two fawned over the kit. "You give her a name, though. It will be something of yours she can keep for her whole life. I'll be back tomorrow." She left the den without another sound.

The next day Jenny was hoping that Teazer had changed her mind. It was hard to lose a kit, and even harder to give one up. As Jenny approached the birthing den, she saw that Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were standing outside it, waiting. The kit was whimpering gently between Teazer's two front paws.

"Thank you," Rumpleteazer said as Jenny approached. All Jenny could do was smile. Tears fell from Teazer's eyes as she handed the kitten over to Jennyanydots. Jenny pulled the kit closer with one paw.

"Did you name her?" Jenny asked as she examined the kitten.

"Electra," Teazer's voice was barely a whisper. "Take her, love her, but don't tell anyone I'm the mother" she pleaded. Then she leaned on Jerrie and began to sob. Jerrie's eyes were also misty.

"I won't," Jenny promised the crying she-cat. She picked up the kit silently and turned. As she walked back to her den, tears began to form in her eyes too.

When Jenny approached, Skimbleshanks was gently grooming himself. He looked up as she stood in front of him, the kit dangling from her mouth. "What is that?" he asked, confused.

Jenny put the kit down gently, "This is our new daughter." When Skimble gave her a blank look, she explained further, "I adopted her."

"Well," he purred, sniffing the little she-cat, "welcome to the family, little one." He looked up at Jenny, "What's her name?"

"Electra," she purred. "Her name is Electra."

"Who is the mother?" he asked.

"I promised not to tell," she whispered, her voice trembling. Skimble asked no more, and accepted the kitten as his daughter.


	2. In the Soup, Again

**Chapter 2: In the Soup, Again**

"Run!" Etcetera cried. She raced through the tunnel and into the clearing. I was right behind her. I could feel the angry Pollicle on my tail. As I dove into the tunnel, he snapped at my feet. I pulled them in close and made my way into the clearing behind Etcetera. Jemima was already there.

I looked up and saw every cat in the junkyard was frozen and staring at us. Many had backs arched and wide eyes. A silver tabby made his way down a hill and stood in front of us. We said not a word as he skirted us three and signaled down a tuxedo tom. The tuxedo tome made his way into the tunnel, and a couple seconds later I could faintly hear the screeching of the Pollicle.

The tabby crossed his arms, "Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"Oops?" I offered. I could hear Jemima and Etcetera snicker.

Munkustrap sighed, "How many times a week do you three queens get yourselves into these messes?"

"At least three," Etcetera giggled.

"Go to your parents," he ordered. Munk's brow furrowed, "Jemima, I expect more from you young lady." All three of us hung our heads and walked over to our parents. I glanced up ad Jenny was glaring down at me. I sighed.

"Electra, what were you thinking?" My mother asked sternly.

"I wondered what would happen if you stuck a Pollicle in the rump with a sewing pin," I replied honestly.

"You and your adventures," Jenny sighed and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?" She put a hand over my shoulder and drew me away. I looked around and saw cats were beginning to calm down and mingle. Demeter's fur was still on end, though.

Jenny brought me roughly home, and Skimble was waiting. As soon as he saw our expressions, he sighed. "What did she do now?"

"Stabbed a Pollicle with a pin and led him on a merry chase," my mother replied.

"What should be her punishment?" he made his way down the junk pile, just like Munkustrap.

"We've done almost everything," Jenny admitted. She was silent for a moment, "Maybe you should take her to the train station."

"Eh," my father mused, "that sounds more like a reward to me."

"Those trains could kill her. It might teach her some respect."

Skimble shrugged, "Why not?"

* * *

The next morning, I was bouncing up and down with excitement as my father got ready to go. I can't help it, I love an adventure.

Some call me the dark and quiet type. My fur color is dark, a pretty cross-hatch of orange and black tabby. I quiet usually because I'm cooking up another scheme in my head. I'll say it again, I love adventure! That's why I get into so much trouble; it's the fact that I'm exploring. I don't always come up with the plots. Sometimes it's Etcetera, Jemima, Victoria, Mistoffolees, or Pouncival.

You see, we have our little trouble-making group here. Etcetera, Jemima and I are the prime members. The others come and go with ideas. It's so much fun.

I follow my father down to the train station, gawking at every little thing. The ticket booths are a little beaten up. The trains, on the other hand, were covered with bright, gleaming paint.

"Welcome to my work," Skimble said proudly. "The train in front of you goes to the middle of London. We'll take it and be back to the junkyard before dark."

We came closer to the back of the train, and a man stood there, a stern look on his face. When he looked down, though, it changed to delight. "Skimbleshanks," he boomed, "welcome old friend. Get into the luggage car and we'll be on our way soon." Skimble nodded to the man and jumped onto the platform. I followed suit.

A few minutes later I heard a harsh screech and the floor lurched underneath me. I yelped and gripped it with my claws. My father chuckled as he watched me from atop a bag. "Calm down," he smiled, "you're perfectly safe. Sit down and enjoy it." I smiled nervously and climbed onto a bag next to him. "Isn't this the kind of adventure you were hoping for?" I lay down on the bag and looked around the spacious car packed to the ceiling with luggage.

I fell asleep and woke up about four hours later to the screech of brakes. My father's head snapped up from rummaging in some baggage. "We're here," he said, helping me down in my sleepy stupor. We made our way out of the train and onto the platform. As soon as my feet hit the concrete, they were gone. I hit the ground heavily. "Come on," he pushed me up with his shoulder, "you can't be that tired."

I shrugged, "Long…nap."

Skimble sighed, "You are not an early riser." I shrugged again.

Then a thought came to my head, "What do the trains move on?"

Skimble led me to the edge of the platform, and we both looked down. There was a pair of metal ladders lying on the ground. The train's wheels were attached to it. "Wow," I breathed.

Suddenly, my still sleepy legs picked the most inopportune time to not support my weight. As my weight was forward, I fell that way. The metal ladders hit my back, giving a shock to my system, and I landed on the far set of tracks. I pushed my front legs underneath me and pushed my head up. A light hit the corner of my eyes and I turned towards it. There was a train bearing down on me.

My green eyes widened as it came closer. My legs felt even more like jelly, and my life flashed before my eyes. I knew I was going to die.

Then there was a tug on my scruff and I was pulled roughly from the tracks. Whoever had me stopped in front of the near train and waited, panting. As the train whooshed past, I felt the tug of the wind on my fur. I wondered if I would be drug along with it. When it had passed, my scruff was tugged on again and I helped my savior pull me onto the platform.

Skimbleshanks let go of her scruff and pulled himself a little farther away. He began licking his fur into place. As he did, he glared at me, "Is that the kind of adventure you were hoping for?"

I took my time in answering him. My legs would finally support me, and I pushed myself into a sitting position. I too licked my ruffled fur into place, and my eyes gained back their focus on the present. "Well?" my father prompted.

I smiled mischievously, "That was great! Can we do it again?" Skimble groaned and put his head onto his paws.

"Let's go home," he suggested. I grinned and began to tread in his paw steps towards the junkyard. Now I knew a good place to find adventure that was far enough from the junkyard that no one would ever know we were there.


	3. The Black, the White, and the Naughty

**Chapter 3: The White, the Black, and the Naughty**

I was lounging on a cushion, trying to keep my over-active mind from formulating more schemes. If we went at this rate we would be out of ideas by the Jellicle Ball. I flicked my tail in contemplation, and heard a shuffling of paws to the side of me. Pouncival pulled himself up beside me and sat down.

I lifted my head, "Doesn't anyone say _please_ anymore?"

Pounce smirked, "Sorry. I just thought you'd like to know we're going to have a meeting of the trouble-makers, if you would like to join us."

I jumped enthusiastically to my paws, "Let's go! Where are we meeting?"

Pounce slid down the pile, "In the old car." I followed him, stepping in his paw steps. It wasn't far. I balanced myself precariously on an old tire as Pounce jumped limberly into the old car. Its paint was cracked and peeling and the door Pounce had just jumped through hung open like a gaping wound. I adjusted my footing and jumped towards the wound, grabbing onto the upholstery. I pulled myself up onto the brown, leathery mound and sat down. This was our society hang-out.

I quickly took stock of the place. Jemima was quietly staring at her paws, and Etcetera was lying on her back. Pounce's head was tilted as he watched Etcetera. In a moment, I saw that there were two bodies missing from this rusty space. I scanned each face, "Where are Victoria and Quaxo?"

Everyone avoided my eyes. Finally, Pounce leveled with me, "We don't know. We looked, but we haven't seen them around for days."

"The white queen and Mr. Magic have left the building," I meowed sarcastically. "Oh well."

The three of them shrugged. Etcetera opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. "Oh, what the heck? Let's go find them."

Everyone stared at me. "What?"

"Well," Jemima confessed, "we really have nothing else to do. Our parents have grounded us to the junkyard."

"You," Pounce snickered. I pricked him with my claws and he yelped.

"Alright," I meowed, "I'll go with Pounce. Jemima and Etcetera, you two can go together." The two she-cats beamed at each other and jumped out the opposite door I had come in. I grabbed Pounce's tail and drug him out the other end.

Once we had landed safely onto stable ground, Pounce and I made our way through the junkyard, trying to find any sign of Mistoffelees or Victoria. We poked our noses into each crevasse, and passed many cats on the way. None of them knew where the ditchers were.

After a while, both of us were starting to get weary. "Can we stop?" Pounce pleaded.

"One more block," I told him, stretching my limbs. Pounce consented, and flicked his tail from side to side.

Suddenly, a tom strutted out from around the corner, but it was no ordinary tom. I felt myself sway a little. It was the Rum Tum Tugger. H smiled when he saw us. I knew Pouncival was trying to burn holes in the older tom's coat. I just smiled.

"Hello," he greeted, "what are you two doing here?" He tickled the bottom of my chin and I purred in delight.

Pounce wedged himself in between us, "We're looking for Victoria and Mistoffelees." His voice was like ice.

"Victoria and Mistoffelees," Tugger mused. "Well, I saw Misto heading that way a little bit ago," he jerked is thumb back to where he had come from. "I haven't seen Victoria in a couple days. Why are you looking for them anyway?" he asked, flashing me a killer smile. I giggled like the kitten I was.

Pounce bared his teeth slightly. "We have to be going."

"Alright," Tugger sighed reluctantly, "have fun." He came over to me, "Come and see me sometime, okay?"

I nodded, "Later."

"Perfect," he purred. Tugger circled his hips and thrust his butt out at me. I swooned into Pouncival's arms. The tom probably shot daggers at Tugger as it happened. When I woke, Tugger was gone and Pouncival practically drug me through the yard.

Finally, we spotted Misto. He was crouched inside a pipe, his green eyes darting back and forth. I jumped lightly on top of the pipe and hung my head over the entrance. "What's up, Quaxo?"

Misto jumped and hit his head on the top of the pipe. He got out, grumbling and rubbing his head. "What's wrong with you?" he growled.

I jumped back off of the pipe and landed next to him. "Well, I thought you'd enjoy a visit from your friends." I crossed my arms, "You missed the meeting."

"What meeting?"

"Of our group," I growled. "The one you helped found."

"Oh," recognition dawned in his eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

"You're a part of it!"

"Not anymore," Misto said matter-of-factly. "That's kit stuff."

"Kit stuff? Suddenly you're too grown up to play pranks?"

"Exactly. Please leave me alone."

"Sorry, Mr. Magic," I tried to contain my anger. "You're too busy hiding in tunnels, aren't you?"

"Hiding from she-cats," Pouncival glared at Misto in jealously. "Some of them have found out I'm a magic cat."

"Well, Mr. Big-shot," I growled, "I hope you're happy." I grabbed Pouncival and drug him away before Quaxo could retaliate. I felt betrayed, but held back the tears in my eyes. Misto is my oldest friend besides Etcetera and Jemima. He had told us about his powers before anyone else, and he doesn't care to show up and see us. I hoped he would choke on his new found fame.

* * *

Jemima and Etcetera made their way through the junkyard in the opposite direction, and didn't need Tugger's help to find their prey. Victoria was practicing her dancing on a tire high above the dance floor. She looked like an angel fallen from the Heaviside Layer.

"Victoria!" Jemima called. The white queen stopped in mid-step and looked down at the two kittens standing below her.

"Jemima! Etcetera!" Victoria made her way down the pile gracefully. Jemima felt jealousy eating at her stomach. "How are my best friends?"

"Are we your best friends?" Etcetera asked. "We had a little meeting, and neither you nor Misto was there."

"I'm sorry," regret glinted in Victoria's eyes. "Misto and I are growing up; we don't have time for kid's games. I know I'll come and see you once in while, and I hope we can still be friends."

"We're still friends?" Jemima asked.

Victoria smiled, "Of course. I'm just trying to build my life ahead of me. I need to practice for the Jellicle Ball, and I'm looking for a good mate. I hope you understand."

"We do," Jemima assured her. Victoria was older than them, after all.

Etcetera smiled, "I guess. I'll probably do the same thing when I'm your age."

"I hope so," Victoria purred. "I'll see you later."

Jemima and Etcetera left the clearing. Now, all they had to do was find Pouncival and Electra. They needed to forget this incident and get ready for the Ball, after all.


End file.
